Graduation is a time during that much focus is placed on the students' pasts as well as their futures - accomplishments are lauded and career plans are contemplated.

M. Roy Wilson

Some of our graduates will soon return to the Health Sciences Center to pursue additional educational endeavors. Almost one-fourth of the medical students graduating this year will serve residencies at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.

Likewise, some of our graduates in Allied Health Sciences, Pharmacy and Nursing also opt to continue their studies before entering the work force.

Somehow, in the excitement and anticipation of completing one chapter in life and opening another, we sometimes lose sight of who the individuals are that we call the Class of 2005.

The faculty and staff describe Health Sciences Center students as community-oriented, highly motivated, focused and extremely active in personal and professional endeavors. Some are first-generation college students; others have family trees that are heavily decorated with degrees.

Health Sciences Center students come from diverse backgrounds and locations; they call Lubbock, Amarillo, El Paso, Odessa, Midland and Dallas home only for a short time before becoming our ambassadors to other cities and states.

A majority however, develop strong ties to the communities in which they train at Health Sciences Center schools and programs and become life-long residents. Today, almost one third of the Health Sciences Center's 7,393 graduates live in West Texas.

Technological advancements also have created opportunities for many Health Sciences Center students to become members of the institution's online population, yet remain in their own communities.

For example, in the School of Nursing's RN to BSN program, more than 60 students from across the country take courses online. Many of these individuals maintain their professional careers and often are local leaders in their respective communities in addition to being Health Sciences Center students.

One upcoming graduate oversees the Christmas drive for underprivileged families in her community; another is a volunteer nurse for a children's summer camp each year.

These examples aptly reflect the thoughts of Democritus, an ancient philosopher, who once said, "There are many who know many things, yet are lacking wisdom." Wisdom is not just the essence of knowledge, but instead a reflection of one's attitude or actions concerning what he or she has learned.

The 2005 graduates of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center have invested many years in their educational endeavors, and they are willing and eager to use what they have learned for the greater good.

And so as these graduates approach this crossroads in their lives, understandably their future becomes the focus. They not only represent future health care professionals, but the future of health care itself. Knowing who they are gives us a greater sense of what they can become.